Helen Keller is a name associated with success in overcoming the many challenges faced by the deaf and blind. Born in 1880 in Alabama, USA, it was Keller who first made people realise that a disability should not be a barrier to achievement and fullness of life.
When an illness at the age of 19 months left Helen bereft of sight and hearing and with communication all but lost to her, she struggled in fear and frustration to connect with the world around her. Anne Sullivan, a teacher from the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston, was engaged by Helen's parents to teach their seven-year old daughter at home and it proved the beginning of an impressive and lasting transformation. The famous eureka moment in Helen's awareness is poignantly featured in the many films made about her, when Anne fingerspelt the word 'water' into Helen's palm while holding the other under the spout. At that moment, Helen realised that words were labels for 'things'. With the bit between her teeth, Helen was determined to achieve what seeing and hearing people took for granted and she went on to learn to speak, to read braille and to write - and even discovered she could enjoy music by feeling the vibrations of the beat.
The Story of My Life is Helen Keller's heart-warming and inspiring memoir of her early life.
